Street-railway switch



(No Model.)

D. W. & G. W. HATPIELD.' STREET RAILWAY SWITCH.

No. 591,628. Patented Oct. 12,1897. 1

WITNESS 6? JQ {5% i UNITED v STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL IV. HATFIELD AND GEORGE HATFIELD, OF NEW HAVEN,

Y CONNECTICUT.

STREET-RA] LWAY SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 591,628, dated October 12, 1897.

App filed July 14, 1896. Serial No. 599,074. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, DANIEL W. HATFIELD and GEORGE IV. HATFIELD, citizens of the United States, and residents of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Street-Railway Switches, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts wherever found throughout both views.

This invention relates to railway-switches, and particularly to street-railway switches;

and the object thereof is to provide an improved switch-operating mechanism which is connected with the switch tongue or plate and with one of the rails of the track and which is adapted to be operated in one direction by the wheel or wheels of a car, and also devices which are connected with the car by which the switch-operating mechanism may be operated in the opposite direction by the motorman, engineer, or other personin charge of the car.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a car, showing also a perspective view of one of the rails of the track, the switch plate or tongue, and the operating devices connected therewith, part of the construction being shown in section; and Fig. 2, a similar view of the operating mechanism connected with the switch tongue or plate. A

In the drawings forming part of this specification, A represents one of the rails of a railway-track, and B the switch plate or tongue, which is pivotally supported in the usual manner, and in the practice of our invention we provide a switch-operating apparatus consisting of a cross-bar D, which is pivotally supported beneath the switch plate or tongue B and which is provided with an arm d, and the switch plate or tongue 13 is pivotally connected with the arm 01 by means of an upwardly-directed pin (1 formed on said arm, which passes through a suitable perforation or opening in said switch plate or tongue. IVe also provide a rod G, which is pivotally connected with the outer-end of the cross-bar D and which is supported by rollers g, said with a horizontal arm, through which passes a vertically-movable bolt 9 The upper end of the bolt g passes through i a flange of the rail A and is adapted to be operated by one of the wheels E of the car, and the inner end of the cross-bar D is provided with a rod F, which extends a predetermined distance along the inner side of the rail A, and the end thereof opposite the cross-barD is pivotally connected withthe lower end of a short lever H, which is fulcrumed at h.

It will be understood that the rod G may be of any desired length, as may also the rod F, and when the wheel E of the car passes over the vertically-m ovable bolt g the rod G will be operated so as to close the switch and the car can proceed on the main track, and we also provide devices which are connected with the car which are designed to operate the lever H, so as to open the switch and allow the car to take the side-track. This device consists of a hanger K, which is secured to the truck of the car and preferably at the rear of the wheel E, and said hanger is provided at its lower end with a pivoted dog k, which is adapted to hangin a vertical position and the backward movement of which is prevented by a plate 10 which is secured to the hanger K, and we also provide a springarm M, which is secured to the upper end of the hanger K at m and which is provided at its lower end with a head m which is adapted to support the dog kin the raised or horizontal position, and connected with the head m? of the spring-arm M is a rope, cord, or chain 0, which passes over a pulley O suitably supported beneath the car, and beneath a pulley O suitably supported beneath the platform of the car, from which it passes upwardly through the platform and over a pulley O on the dashboard and is provided with a ring or handle P.

In the normal position of the parts the dog is is held in the position shown in Fig. 1, and

whenever it is necessary to operate the lever H, so as to open the switch and enable the car to take the side-track, the inotorman,

driver, or other person in control of the car pulls on the cord and releases the head m of the spring-arm M from the dog is, and the latter drops into the vertical position, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and as the car proceeds the lever H is operated thereby and the switch is opened, thus enabling the car to take the side-track.

It will be understood that the distance be-- tween the end of the rod G, with which the; vertically-movable bolt 9 is connected, and the lever H is suflicient to enable the operator on the car to open the switch, if desired, after the same has been closed by the wheels of the car as they pass over the verticallymovable bolt 9 and our invention is not limited to the exact form, construction, and arrang'ement of the various parts thereof as herein described, and other means may be provided for operating the dog 70, whereby said dog may be raised from the platform of the car as well as released therefrom. I

The apparatus for operating the switch is simple in construction and operation and is' not liable to get out of order or fail to oper-i ate, and we reserve the right to make all such alterations therein and modifications thereof as fairly come within the scope of the in'ven-f tion. Having fully described our invention, we? claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent In a switch-operating apparatus, of theg character described, the combination with the rails of the main and side track, of a switch? plate or tongue pivotally supported adjacent to the rails of the side-track, a cross-bar D,

said rod, and being provided with a horizon-' tal arm, a vertically-movable bolt g passing through said arm in the end of which project adjacent to the top of the rail of the track, and is adapted to be operated by the wheels of the car, a rod pivotally connected with the free end of the cross-bar, and extending a predetermined distance along the inner side of the rail of the main track, a short lever connected with the free end of. said rod F, and extending slightly above the rails of the track, and a hanger K secured upon the under side of the car, having a pivoted arm k, the backward movement of which is limited by a plate W, and a spring-retaining arm M,

connected with said hanger and adapted to hold the arm la in a horizontal position and 'means on the car for releasing said arm k to operate said support-lever as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we have signed our names, in

* presence of. the subscribing witnesses, this Witnesses: 7

MICHAEL HERNERY, THOMAS E. KEHoE. 

